Art imitating life: Popular TV characters based on real people

This is the case for the following characters, all based on real people living unique and fascinating lives.

From a soccer mum with a secret pot business to a high-powered editor navigating the world of women's magazines in a post #MeToo climate, here are some of the most intriguing TV characters based on real people, available to watch on Stan.

Nancy Botwin in Weeds

Adding to their vast collection of iconic series, Stan has just dropped all eight seasons of the hit series, Weeds.

Hailed the Breaking Bad of the pot world, the series sees suburban single mum Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) start an illegal marijuana business to provide for her family after her husband dies.

Mary-Louise Parker in Weeds. (Stan)

The dark-comedy created by Jenji Kohan (Orange Is The New Black) is allegedly based on Hollywood's "Queen of Cannabis" and medical marijuana consultant to the stars, Dr Dina.

Speaking to Vice, Dr Dina said she began writing a script about her life in the early 2000s, which she then passed on to a client "in the business". He never got back to her, but months later she found herself staring at her doppelgänger (Parker) on a billboard advertising the show.

"I thought it was me," she told Vice, adding that it was April Fool's Day and she assumed her friend/client Snoop Dogg was playing a practical joke.

Jacqueline Carlyle in The Bold Type

While The Bold Type follows the fierce females of Scarlet Magazine, the inspiration for the series (and boss-lady Jacqueline Carlyle) comes from the halls of Cosmopolitan, with the US magazine's former editor-in-chief Joanna Coles serving as executive producer on the series

Beyond Coles' own personal stories, series creator Sarah Watson researched the world of Cosmo by following the magazine boss around for a day and taking notes from the experiences of its current employees, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Melora Hardin as Jacqueline in The Bold Type. (Panagiotis Pantazidis/Freeform/U)

Spencer James in All American

Teen drama All American chronicles the high school football career of wunderkind Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), but takes its game plan from the life experiences of NFL player Spencer Paysinger.

Like Paysinger, Spencer is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, placing him in a very different world than the one he grew up in.

While you could be forgiven for thinking it's all about football, the series perfectly captures the drama of being in a high-pressure field combined with the ever-present themes of class and race, making All American much more than light entertainment.

Daniel Ezra in All American. (Stan)

Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld

While it may seem like Seinfeld's brilliantly eccentric Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards) is too good to be true, the show's co-creator Larry David based him on his neighbour, stand-up comedian Kenny Kramer.

While the character's iconic mannerisms and hilariously frantic entrances are the actor's creation, David says the "real" Kramer and the "fake" Kramer have a lot of similarities.

For starters, they're both tall and lanky, with attention-grabbing hair and a penchant for a moneymaking schemes, golf and hot tubs.

Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards in Seinfeld. (Stan)

Abed Nadir in Community

Hit series Community's Abed Nadiris based on writer Abed Gheith, a friend of the show's creator Dan Harmon.

While Harmon pushed to have Gheith star as himself on the series, he ultimately lost out to actor Danny Pudi, but still got to play a janitor on the show for the episode 'Laws of Robotics & Party Rights'.

Danny Pudi in Community. (Stan)

Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers

John Cleese's iconic character Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers was based on real-life hotelier Donald Sinclair of the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, Devon.

Back in 1970, members of the comedy group Monty Python stayed at the Gleneagles where they witnessed Sinclair's hilariously eccentric and uptight behaviour firsthand.

Inspired, Cleese mimicked the hotel manager's ridiculous neuroses and turned it into a BAFTA-winning sitcom.

John Cleese in Fawlty Towers. (Stan)

Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy

While researching for his role as bikie gang president Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy, Charlie Hunnam spent a solid amount of time with a 22 year-old member of an Oakland based motorcycle club.

According to The Huffington Post, this young biker informed the complex and tragic character of Jax, right down to the aesthetics, including the character's clean white sneakers and blue jeans.

"He was Jax Teller," Hunnam told the outlet. "He was the heir apparent, like the history and future of that club and just an amazing guy."

Describing him as an "old-school outlaw, cowboy... bada-- gunslinger" for the modern day, the actor said the guy was "prototypically perfect" for the character, so he "based everything on him".

One week after leaving Oakland, right before Sons of Anarchy began shooting, the real life 'Jax' was tragically killed. Hunnam says he still has a necklace from that time which he wears as a memorial.

Charlie Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy. (Stan)

Ali G in Da Ali G Show

Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career out of character acting, duping politicians and celebrities with hilarious exploits in the likes of Who Is America? and The Dictator.

One of his most iconic characters is "rude boy" rapper and star of Da Ali G Show, Ali G.

Cohen based the larger-than-life character on British radio host and DJ Tim Westwood, who spoke with a fake accent and dressed in a similarly baggy street fashion, a contrast to his middle-class upbringing as the son of a bishop.

Sacha Baron Cohen in Da Ali G Show. (Stan)

Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock

In what has been hailed a "masterpiece" adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective series, Sherlock is the latest reimagining of the wildly popular adventures of the eccentric PI Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and faithful companion, John Watson (Martin Freeman).

While the detective has become an icon in his own rite, Conan Doyle revealed that the character of Sherlock Holmes was based on Dr Joseph Bell, his professor and mentor at Edinburgh University Medical School.

Bell shared many qualities with the famous detective: he was renowned for his superior intelligence and used his deductive powers to diagnose diseases and disabilities.